During a chippy game that was preceded by a Kansas captain refusing to return Mayfield's offer of a handshake during the coin toss, Mayfield grabbed his crotch and appeared to yell "F--- you!" at the Jayhawks' sideline.

"I got caught up in a competitive game, a chippy game, but what I did was unacceptable," Mayfield said. "I apologize. It's disrespectful. It's not the example I want to set. It's not the legacy I want to leave at OU. I truly do apologize. Thinking about the kids that are watching this now, it's not something I want to do to the parents out there. I'm sorry."

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said there was "no excuse" for Mayfield's actions and said he would consider disciplinary action once he gets the chance to watch the antics for himself.

"It was a chippy game, and it was chippy from the second their guys decided they didn't want to shake our hands at the coin toss," Riley said. "The chippiness started there. ... Baker is a competitive guy and let his emotions get the best of him. We can't have that, he can't do that."

Tensions began to escalate from the opening coin toss between Mayfield and the Jayhawks. Mayfield attempted to shake hands with Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., but he was snubbed. In return, Mayfield scoffed and began clapping his hands as he walked back. Moments later, he was helmet-to-helmet with another Kansas captain, defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr.

Dineen acknowledged afterward that refusing to shake Mayfield's hand looked bad but said the Jayhawks didn't intend to be disrespectful.

"It wasn't an attack on him personally at all," Dineen said. "I respect him. He's obviously a great player. It was more for us personally to kind of put our foot down and kind of get a little bit fired up before the game and let them know that we're here and we're not going to just back down because you're Oklahoma."

Jayhawks coach David Beaty said he understood the message his players were trying to send by refusing to shake hands, but added, "I've got to do a better job as their coach, maybe teaching them how to manage that a little bit better. ... But I certainly don't think it was anything more than the fact that this is a football game. It's a football game, and we're going to defend our grass. From that standpoint, I think it helped us. We were ready to go."

In the second quarter, Mayfield grew more upset after taking a late hit to the head from Kansas corner Hasan Defense. Defense was flagged for roughing the passer but not targeting. As Mayfield walked ahead to rejoin his teammates, he began chirping at the Kansas sideline.

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That carried over into the second half, when Mayfield grabbed his crotch and yelled at the Kansas team from across the field after tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, putting the Sooners up 28-3.

"You get caught up in the emotional stuff," Mayfield said. "But when the coaches said something about it, that's when I realized I had really messed up. Cameras are always on me. You've got to be smart."

Mayfield was also caught on camera turning around to a group of Kansas hecklers and apparently telling them, "You have one win! Stick to basketball."

Asked about Mayfield's crotch grab, Dineen said, "Trash talk and stuff like that is part of the game. If he thought that was necessary to do, then whatever. That doesn't hurt my feelings or anything like that. If a guy says 'F-you' to me, I'll brush it off. It's happened before. It's nothing really."

Saturday wasn't the first time Mayfield has been embroiled in controversy. After a Week 2 victory at Ohio State, he planted an Oklahoma flag at midfield of The Shoe. He apologized for the celebration, saying he "didn't mean for it to be disrespectful."

"Football is a competitive game for a reason," Mayfield said. "There's a lot of emotion. On the field, there's a lot of trash talk that goes on. Today I just took it too far."